Chaos In! DystopiaEXE, Transmit!
by Hideyori
Summary: A dystopian look at the MegaMan Battle Network universe, with elements pulled from all 6 games in the series, as well as elements from the X series here and there. 3 OCs, nasty deaths, and almost redemption lie ahead. Also, blah blah, alternate universe.
1. Upload

**Chaos In! , Transmit!**

**Chapter I: Upload**

In his house in ACDC Town, Lan Hikari hung up his house phone, a slightly concerned look on his face. He had been in conversation with his close friend, walking contingency plan, and coffee aficionado, Hideyori Yasuda. The subject of their conversation was the newly elected President of Electopia, one Dr. Regal, and the protest that was being organized concerning the election in the town square. Regal himself was going to be there to answer to accusations that his party, calling itself Nebula, had manipulated the election behind the scenes.

Hideyori, as well as their mutual friend and hurricane of puns by the name of Dalziel Maelstrom, seemed to believe the talk of behind-the-scenes electoral manipulation, but Lan was less convinced. His father, respected SciLab employee Yuichiro Hikari, seemed to think that Regal was a decent enough man, and that was generally good enough for Lan. However, Lan had agreed to go to the protest with Hideyori, Dalziel, and his friend/rival Eugene Chaud, most commonly known by his surname.

A knock on the door announced the arrival of his three friends. Lan opened the door, and there stood Hideyori, Dalziel, and Chaud. Hideyori was dressed in his usual all-black outfit consisting of a sleeveless shirt, jeans, and steel-toe work boots, all under a trenchcoat. Dalziel was wearing an almost-obnoxious white suit jacket with black undershirt and jeans, accompanied by a clown-nose-red bow tie. Chaud, his white hair hanging slightly over his face, was wearing his usual red vest, black undershirt, and camo pants. "Hey, Lan. Do you, for one, also welcome our new WWW, I mean, Nebula overlords?" Hideyori's voice was casually sarcastic, though some part of him clearly wasn't kidding.

Lan sighed and shook his head. "Not every government is out to screw us, Hide," he said. Hideyori shook his head and shrugged. "Course not. Just the ones that manipulate the elections to make the previous government look bad." Dalziel grinned and chimed in, "Well, we should get going…some progress would be a…revolutionary idea, don't you think?" Lan and Chaud chuckled at the pun, but Hideyori responded with one of his own. "Yeah, we wouldn't want to be late to the _party_, would we? Damn it, now you've got me doing it."

As the three set off, they were all unaware that they were being followed by a hooded figure, one with a sleek, black earpiece in his ear. "They're heading to the town square now, sir." A voice answered back, "Excellent. You have your weapon?" The figure replied in the affirmative. "Yes, sir. Yasuda's own knife. " The second voice responded very pleased. "Excellent. Well done, Dark Scythe. Continue following them. The chaos will be produced for you. All you have to do is make the kills. We'll take care of the rest." The first voice responded. "Yes, sir. Dark Scythe out." At that moment, Chaud looked over to Hideyori. "Hide…we locked the house before we left, right?"

Behind the curtain set up on the stage in the ACDC Town Square, Dr. Regal sat down across from Yuichiro Hikari after removing a headset from his ear. "Well, Dr. Hikari. What do you think about the imminent protest?" Yuichiro shrugged gently. "I don't know…I doubt it will get out of hand, but, even so…no security at all seems a bit reckless, Doctor." Regal made an indifferent gesture. "Perhaps. But it's also an 'act of good faith' to the protestors. If I have security in any capacity, it will be seen as dictatorial. Tensions will be lower this way."

"So, Lan, are your parents still angry with me?" Hideyori asked, turning to Lan. Lan sighed heavily and nodded. "Yeah…I mean, can you blame them? You were the one who said it had to be me to use the Pulse Transmission Chair in the WWW base…and I did come pretty close to dying." Hideyori sighed and shook his head. "It seemed like the right call…I mean, for Christ's sake, you were the only one who'd battled Forte directly, in any capacity. Chaud and I couldn't have taken him on in the condition we were in, and Dalziel was lying in a hospital bed." Lan shrugged. "I know. But they were furious with you…they don't even want you and I hanging out anymore…but, it doesn't matter at this point. Let's go." The four set off again, approaching the town square, where a sizable crowd had gathered by now, unaware that they were still being tailed by the enigmatic figure referred to as Dark Scythe.

As the four approached the town square, the crowd had swelled to the whole of ACDC Town. Visible among the crowd were former WWW operative and chip shop owner, Yamitaro Higure, known affectionately around town as Higsby, in addition to Lan's friends Dex, Mayl, and Yai. The chatter of the crowd died away instantly as Regal took the stage.

"Citizens of ACDC , and Electopia as a whole…I stand before you today, not as your President, but as a fellow Electopian! I come before you to answer to accusations that my presidency is…less than legitimate. That I, and the Nebula party as a whole, were, in fact, behind the corruption in the previous government. That we manipulated events to give ourselves power. I am sad to say, that I have even heard rumors of us being worse than, or even somehow connected to World Three! "

Regal paused for effect before continuing. "I would like to answer to these accusations by saying that they are completely false. My presidency was attained legitimately, and I will do my utmost to ensure that…" Regal was cut off by the sound of a bullet being fired from off in the distance. Panic erupted in the crowd, the screams from all directions ripping apart the momentary, stunned silence. As people began running in every direction, Hideyori turned to his three friends. "We have to go. Now." Lan gaped at Hideyori. "Are you insane?! My parents are here, I can't leave them!" Hideyori jerked his head in the direction of the stage. "Your parents are safe, they were backstage! The first thing they're going to do is go looking for you!" Lan tore off in the direction of the stage, ignoring Hideyori's protests. "Lan! Lan! Ahh, fuck, I can't believe he's done this. Chaud, Dalziel, one of you get a hold of Famous, then get back to me, ASAP."

Dalziel set off immediately, but Chaud hesitated, looking at Hideyori. "Chaud, go. I'll meet up with you two as soon as I know Lan and his parents are safe, I promise. " Chaud nodded before turning and running off after Dalziel. Hideyori tore off in the direction Lan went, but the road soon forked in different directions. "Damn it," he thought. "Which way….hell with it, no time to think!" With that, he tore off down a road that lead to a dead end.

What Hideyori saw caused the breath to leave his lungs. Yuichiro Hikari and his wife, Haruka Hikari, lay on the ground. Haruka's throat had been slit, and Yuichiro had a stab wound on his chest. On the ground beside them lay a knife, housed in an ornate, black-and-gold sheath with a dragon entwined around a javelin running the length of it. Hideyori had just picked up the knife when a voice cut across his thoughts. "Hideyori…you…didn't…."


	2. Part A: Proto Part B: State Restore

**Chaos In! , Transmit!**

**Chapter II, Part A: Proto (Takes place before Ch. I)**

The sound of a doorbell interrupted Hideyori's daily regimen of Virus Busting practice. As the melodic sounds of "Testify" died away, Hideyori spoke into the microphone of the headset in his ear. "Shut down the Battle Routine and jack out, Enker. Time for a break, I think." Heading downstairs to see who was at the door, Hideyori stuck his head into a different bedroom, checking on the sleeping form of Chaud, curled up in a ball under the sheets. "Lazy, he is. Ah, well. May as well leave him sleep."

Hide received something of a shock when he opened the door. He was greeted by the sunglassed, lab-coated form of Mr. Famous, the ace NetBattler who had trained Hideyori in the art of Virus Busting and NetBattling. "Famous! Jesus, what are you doing here?!" came Hideyori's astonished response, stepping aside to let his mentor in. "Long story, that. And not one solely for your ears, m'boy. I need that hurricane of puns you call Dalziel Maelstrom and your…what are you and Chaud these days?" Hideyori gave a short laugh. "Two guys preventing the continuation of the human species, we are." Famous laughed appreciatively. "Ah. Boyfriends, then," he said, receiving a nod in return. "There you go. Give us a minute, I'll wake him up and text Dalziel."

With that, Hideyori made his way back upstairs, a text consisting of "Famous. My house. ASAP," receiving a response simply of "There in 5," as he walked into the room occupied by the still-sleeping Chaud, pressing his lips to Chaud's, but receiving no response. "Oh, honey…you brought this on yourself." With that, Hideyori licked his finger and stuck it into Chaud's ear.

"JESUS CHRIST! Hide, what the hell was that for?!" Chaud sat bolt upright, rubbing his ear and looking at Hide. "Well, I _did_ try waking you up nicely. Famous is in the living room. Says he needs to talk to you, me, and Dalziel," Hideyori replied, watching the shirtless Chaud climb out of bed. "Wait, what? Famous? Here?" Chaud said in bewilderment, halfway through pulling on a shirt. Hideyori simply nodded and left the room, walking back out to the living room to see Dalziel sitting on his couch.

"Excellent. Chaud should be here in…" Hideyori's voice was cut off by Chaud's. "…Right now. Hi, Famous," said Chaud, who was now fully dressed and standing next to Hideyori. When Hide and Chaud had taken their seats on the sofa, Famous said, "Good. Now we can begin."

Famous turned to the other three, his face becoming serious as he removed the shades. "As you may or may not know, the current government is likely on its way out due to corruption, thus paving the way for the challenging Nebula Party to take power. Until recently, nobody would have considered Nebula a legitimate contender. However, with their recent 'investigation' into the 'corruption' of the current administration, as well as into the handling, or lack thereof, of major NetCrime. Specifically, the two World Three incidents, Gospel, and the LifeVirusR business. Now, they're the frontrunners, and look like they're going to get governmental authority. What they plan to do with that authority, I don't know. All I've been able to pick up from hacking their servers and files, plus random chatter I've been able to pick up, is that their endgame, whatever it is, would be worse than when World Three tried to unleash Alpha."

Famous then took off his sunglasses and looked directly at the three of them. "Which is what brings me to you three. I'm putting a team together…"

**End Part A**

**Chaos In! , Transmit!**

**Part B: State Restore**

Hideyori looked up as Lan's voice cut across his disbelief. "Hideyori…you…didn't…" Lan breathed, staring in shock at the scene. Hideyori knew he had little time, realizing what must have happened, though he couldn't begin to understand why it did. He tore off in the direction of the safehouse Famous had set up for the fledgling resistance movement. "Not what it looks like, I swear. I'll call you later," he said hastily as he ran past Lan. Neither of the two was aware of a camera hidden on the side of a building in the alley, recording the entire proceedings…

Chaud was biting his lip hard in the safehouse, which, for the moment, was occupied only by himself, Dalziel, and Famous. "Chaud, I understand you're worried, but he'll be back. You know that," Famous said placatingly, laying a hand on Chaud's shoulder. At that precise moment, Hideyori burst through the door, out of breath and visibly shaken. "We…are…so…screwed. Lan's parents. Framed me. Both of them, with my knife. Can't…can't believe we…should have locked the house, damn it to Hell!" Chaud put his hands on either side of his boyfriend's face, looking directly into Hideyori's green eyes. "Hide…calm down. Breathe, sweetheart. Tell us what happened," he said, leading Hideyori over to a chair and sitting him down in it. "Lan's…parents. Murdered. I've just been framed for the murder…of Yuichiro and Haruka Hikari. Famous, we can't stay here, we've got to get going!" Hideyori gasped out, struggling to keep himself under control.

Famous took charge of the situation, pulling out a flash drive and pointing to a laptop. "That computer contains the names and last known email addresses, and phone numbers when applicable, of the other members of the resistance. Someone's going to need to…" Famous was cut off by Hideyori grabbing the flash drive. "On it. Get going. Leave me a location, and I'll be there when the transfer's done." Hideyori's voice was flat, expressionless, and surprisingly steady. Famous stared at his protégé, recognizing the coping mechanism and the willpower it was taking to even fake calmness. "…Alright. You heard him, gentlemen. Let's get going." With that, Famous and Dalziel headed for a back door leading out to the streets, but Chaud hesitated. "Chaud, go. I'll be there. I promise." Chaud bit his lip, but nodded and followed the other two out.

With his friend, boyfriend, and teacher gone, Hide set to work. The flash drive connected to the laptop, he began copying the files before jacking his PET into the laptop. " online. Awaiting your orders, Hideyori," came Enker's voice from the PET. Hideyori grinned, watching the progress bar on the transfer move closer to completion. "Aaand….we're done! Enker, one last thing to do. Let's make sure we weren't here." The gold-armored NetNavi nodded appreciatively. "Yes, sir. Data erasure complete in 5…4…3…2…1…Complete! jacking out!" The data transfer complete; Hideyori cut the power cord and removed the battery, crushing it under his feet after removing the flash drive. His task finished, the black-haired NetBattler tore out of the building, where a sleek, black-and-purple motorcycle stood waiting.

Hopping on the bike, Hideyori took off in the direction of the address flashing on his PET. Ditching the bike in a back alley some 10 blocks from his destination, Hideyori took the rest of the way on foot, coming eventually in what looked like an abandoned warehouse on the outside. He stepped up to a side door and knocked, watching as a panel opened near the top of the door, seeing Famous's signature sunglasses in the empty space. "Hideyori…come on in. Bad news, m'boy," Famous said, opening the door and allowing Hideyori inside. Whatever the place looked like externally, it was nothing like the inside. The warehouse had been converted into a functional base of operations, complete with sleeping quarters for all those inside. Along with Famous, Chaud, and Dalziel, Hideyori saw, among others, former WWW operative Mr. Match and Netopian NetBattler Raoul. "I know what you're thinking. Yes, that is Mr. Match. No, he's not secretly planning to kill us all," Famous said, directing Hideyori to a large television screen. What Hideyori saw caused his breath to leave his lungs again.

"Hideyori Yasuda: Fugitive," read the headline. "President Regal Vows To Hunt Down Yasuda," it continued. Famous looked over at his young protégé. "They're going to be watching the phone lines. Email and text messaging too," he said grimly. Hideyori bit his lip, nails digging into his palms. "I told him I'd call him later..." he said softly. Famous shook his head firmly. "Out of the question. You make one phone call, and they'll have you before Lan can pick up. There's more. Apparently, Regal's intending to adopt Lan, claiming it's his responsibility to his departed friend and his wife," he said. Hideyori bit his lip. "This…this was…" he said, unable to finish the sentence.

"Planned, I expect. What Regal's after I can't even guess. That being said, we need to get to work. Match, Raoul! Over here, please!" Famous called, watching the Netopian and the former WWW operative walk over to the others. "Right. First thing we need to do is get some recruiting done, as well as finding out what's going on elsewhere. Match, I need you to go to the Undernet, and find out from Serenade what's going on. Dalziel and Raoul, you two stay here. We need all of our files backed up, as well as getting the recruitment drive out from here. Chaud, I need you to make sure that your father, and by extension his and your company, are safe. Given what happened to Yai's parents, I'd say your father might be a target. Make sure he has as much security as he can. Hideyori, I have a specific recruitment in mind for you," Famous added, turning to his protégé. Hideyori bit his lip and nodded. "I want you to get a hold of, and by any means necessary, get Dark Miyabi on our side. If reports are correct, his pupil Dark Scythe has been brought over to Nebula. This may help get him on our side, as will his history of working against whatever government happens to be in charge."

Hideyori nodded. "Then I need two things. The laptop I left with you, privacy in the extreme, and coffee," he said. Dalziel blinked. "H..Hide, that was three things…." he said, looking over at his friend. "No, Dalziel. That was two things. Coffee is a given with me. Now go annoy Raoul with some puns or something," Dalziel giggled obnoxiously, taking a seat at a large computer next to Raoul. "So, Raoul, how about a NetBattle sometime? I'd imagine you'd be thunderstruck by the results, but I don't mean to make light of a situation with so much gravity, if you know what I mean. I really hope it doesn't cloud my judgment or anything…ah? Ah?" Raoul stared at Dalziel, clearly confused about something. "D..Dalziel, why are you inflecting some of your words like that? Are you trying to convey a hidden message of some sort?" Dalziel's face fell. "I…that…it…" he sighed, letting out a noise of disappointment and shaking his head before setting to work alongside the Netopian NetBattler.

Their task was a tedious, repetitive one, and in two parts. One of them would back up and encrypt any and all sensitive information the budding resistance had in its impressive database, while the other went over the list of names on the flash drive Hide had delivered, sending out heavily encrypted email messages in an effort to strengthen their numbers. Chaud, meanwhile, picked up a plain, ordinary cell phone out of a bin containing many cell phones. "Famous…are these safe? I mean, won't they be tracking these, too?" Famous shook his head. "Doubtful. It's different tech than that used in our PETs, so they won't be watching for it. Ordinary cell phones are almost antiques, and little more than novelty items at best." Chaud nodded, reassured, and stepped into an empty room to make his phone call.

"Hello? Who is this?" came the gruff, impatient voice of Shuuseiki Ijuin, head of IPC and Chaud's father. "It's…Chaud, father. I wanted to make sure you were safe." A momentary silence followed. "What do you mean? Why would I not be?" Chaud bit his lip. "Father…Yai's parents recently died in a car crash after they publicly opposed the Nebula party before the election. I'm just…I'm worried. I think you should up your security," he said, faltering slightly, as he always did when speaking to his father. "Hmph. Well, can't hurt. Take care of yourself," his father said, and ended the call.

Dalziel and Raoul were continuing their work, Dalziel throwing out puns at almost every opportunity, failing to get them across to Raoul each time. Their work continued uninterrupted, but the recruiting efforts were nearly fruitless. The only replies thus far had been from Sal, operator of and her friend Miyu Black, operator of .

Mr. Match, the ex-WWW operative, jacked his beloved NetNavi into the Net, setting off to enter the Undernet, hoping to see if it, too, had fallen, and if not, to do some recruiting of his own.

Armed with a large cup of coffee, an even larger bottle of water, and his laptop, affectionately nicknamed "Fate", Hideyori jacked in to the Net, entering the state of Full Synchro with Enker. "FullSynchro complete. online," came the voice of the NetNavi. With that, the two set out to recruit the most dangerous and feared mercenary the net had known.

The following week brought nothing but bad news for the resistance. There had been an incident in ACDC Town involving the new CopyBot technology, which allowed NetNavis to move and interact with the real world. Higsby had been demonstrating the basics of the technology to Dex in his chip shop, using a CopyBot inhabited by NumberMan as an example. "See, huh. It's not that difficult, huh," the bespectacled shop owner said to the large, green-shirted Dex. As Dex uploaded GutsMan's data to the CopyBot, a bullet burst through a window, hitting Dex right between the eyes. Later reports would attribute the result to a combination of the trauma of seeing his NetOp die right before him and what was referred to as a "compatibility glitch."

Upon seeing Dex's lifeless form before him, GutsMan went into a rage, lashing out with his large, powerful fists and shattering the bulb on NumberMan's head, instantly deleting him beyond any hope of recovery before rampaging out of the shop and disappearing from view. Higsby stood before his Navi's lifeless form, weeping silently, before pulling a revolver out from a drawer under the counter and pressing it to his temple, pulling the trigger.

The next day saw Yai Ayano lose a part of the inheritance from her late parents. Specifically, the controlling stake in her company, AyanoTech, had been bought out by a group of shareholders. Despite receiving more than a few threatening letters, Yai was doing her best to fight the transition. Three days after the buyout, Yai had been found dead in her home, of what the autopsy determined was a heart attack. In the midst of this tragedy, Match returned with the disheartening news that he was unable to get into the Undernet.

Saturday saw the closest thing to a bright spot they had seen all week. Hideyori emerged from the room he'd been occupying. His face and arms were covered in scrapes and cuts, a sure sign that he had seen battle in his FullSynchro state. Chaud ran up and threw his arms around Hideyori. "Hide…Christ, we were getting worried." Hide returned the hug before turning to Famous. "Lost him, son of a bitch. He said the battle wasn't over, so it's not a lost cause. Thought I ought to check in, though. What've I missed?" Famous sighed and shook his head. "Nothing that even remotely resembles good news. Yai, Dex, and Higsby are all dead, NumberMan's been taken out permanently, GutsMan is missing, AyanoTech is likely under Nebula control, our only recruits are Sal and Miyu, and we know nothing of the situation in the Undernet. All in all, not looking good," he said grimly. "Hide, I need you to get back on the Net and get ShadowMan on our side, as soon as you're able," he added. "On it, boss," came the reply, before the black-haired NetBattler set off for his room to go back to work.

Dalziel and Raoul had been hard at work all week. To break the monotony, Dalziel had taken a different tack with the securing of their data. Having long since finished backing up and encrypting what they already had, he had recently begun looking over and improving their security protocols and defenses for the base's home page on the Net. As it was now, the entrance to the homepage had several layers of protection around it, which, in turn, were protected by the best anti-virus and anti-bug software available to them. Raoul, meanwhile, had stopped the recruitment drive in favor of compiling three separate lists. One for resistance personnel, one for Nebula personnel, and one composed of significant NetBattlers who were, as yet, unaffiliated with either faction.

Chaud, meanwhile, had spent the days since Match's return NetBattling with the fiery redhead both to keep himself sharp and to simply have something to do. It would be a full 24 hours before Hideyori would resurface. Once again, his arms and face were covered in cuts and scrapes, but this time, he wore a broad grin on his face. "We got him. Close one, though. Either I'm slipping, he's gotten better, or both. Either way, he'll get in touch with you."

There was a knock at the side door, and Famous, being the first to hear it answered. Standing in the doorway were two women, one with short red hair and the other with long blue braids. "Hello Famous," said the one with the braids, "it's been a while." Famous nodded and answered, "yeah, glad to see you again Miyu. And this is Danni, I presume," he said, gesturing to the redhead by her side. "Indeed. Nice to finally meet you, sir," Danni responded, offering her hand for Famous to shake. He took it and did so, then gestured for the two to follow him in. "Come on in, you should probably meet some of the others; I think there's a group over in this room, go ahead in and introduce yourselves, I'll probably be back in soon" he pointed to a door and let the two in.

"Hey Miyu! Wow, all that saying hello worked up a hell of an appetite, hey Not Miyu, make me a sammich," came Dalziel's voice.

Danni looked in Dalziel's direction, irritation faintly showing on her face. "Excuse me, what was that?"

He smirked in their direction as he said, "A sammich; meat and/or cheese between two pieces of bread. God Miyu, you always date the stupid ones."

Danni rolled her eyes as she answered exasperatedly "oh, I know what a sandwich is, I'm just perplexed by the fact that you can't get off your lazy ass and make your own. Or bother to learn someone's name before demanding something of them." Miyu looks at Danni and says quietly, "Hon, forgive the idiot, he knows not what he does"

Dalziel smirked, rose to his feet and walked closer to the pair. "There, I'm off my lazy ass. And Miyu, you've got it all wrong, I knows exactly what 'I does'. What I don't know is why your cuddle buddy isn't in the kitchen making my damned sammich..."

Danni shook off the arm Miyu was using to try and hold her back and walked over to Dalziel. "Excuse me, I have a name, and there is no way in hell I am making you anything, you sexist prick!" Danni turned and began to walk away, knowing that it was probably the safer option in the long run.

Dalziel looked at Danni as she walked away and smiled, a glimmer in his eye. "If you don't make me a sammich, then you'll still end up making me something...You'll be making me very mad..." Tron Bonne, Dalziel's girlfriend, a woman in a long shirt that turned into a short pink skirt, revealing skin colored tights beneath it, leading to her bright pink boots; walked in and rested a hand on Dalziel's shoulder. She looked at him, her emerald eyes glimmering from beyond her short brown hair. "Let it go Dalzi; at least get to know the girl before you start making demands." Dalziel turned to her, the glimmer growing. "It's alright Tron, I've got this. Oh, and Not-Miyu, since you're walking away anyway, the kitchen's over there, and I like provolone and roast beef." Tron shook her head and turned back toward her room. "You're on your own hon..."

Danni whipped around, rage shining in her eyes. "Oh, that fucking does it..." Miyu could be heard muttering under her breath, "I warned him... this is his own fault." Danni walked up and punched Dalziel square in the jaw. "Yeah, well, looks like you made me mad too. You really wanna keep going, 'cause I can hit a lot harder than that, trust me."

Dalziel shook off the force of the punch and responded, "Well if you worked half as hard at making me a sandwich as you did at punching me, we wouldn't have this problem." Dalziel then turned and started to run. Tron looked over at Miyu, shaking her head. "You warned him, I warned him, now all that's left is for the boy to learn the hard way."

As Dalziel ran, Danni sprinted after him, quickly catching up. She tackled him, and began to beat his head into the floor to make her point more forcefully. "I figured *bash* why waste *bash* the energy *bash* on something *bash* so pointless. *Bash* Besides, *bash* this is more fun!"

Dalziel spit up some blood on the ground as he struggled under her. He wouldn't hit a woman, he had more respect than that, though mocking them was always fun. He squirmed harder in an attempt to get away. "I've got an idea...a peace offering if you will..."

Danni looked down suspiciously, but decided to make an effort if he was willing to do the same. "Alright, I'll let you up, and we'll discuss it." She let go of his hair, stood, and offered him a hand getting up.

He took her hand, pulled out a cigarette, and offered her one. "Let's smoke, calm down, and then we'll discuss..." He said, knowing that if she hadn't finished, his next comment would result in a burn to his cornea. He looked over at Tron, with a familiar grin and his PET vibrated shortly after with a simple "don't do it Dalzi...Don't do it.

Danni took the cigarette out of his hand, and smiled. "Alright, I can do a temporary truce for a smoke break." The two walked out back to indulge in their mutual lung punishment, and had just returned, looking much more at ease with one another to see Chaud sobbing into Hideyori's shoulder. "Chaud? What happened?" asked Dalziel, concern all over his face.

Chaud looked up from Hideyori's shoulder, tears streaming down his face, a trickle of blood running down his lip. "My…father has been murdered. By Tesla Gauss."


End file.
